the dragon boy
by landunbrown1993
Summary: when Brandons parents send him to his aunt and uncles due to a nasty divorce, he and his two cousins find a secret door to a new world. aria! but aria isnt a fairytale, its in the middle of a war.


I can remember when I was fifteen. My mom and dad were on the verge of a divorce so they sent me to my grandparents home in north Louisiana. It was a long way away from my home in Chicago. I didn't want to leave my friends for the next few months, but I definitely wanted to get away from my mom and dads vicious fights and arguments. As I got off the plain, I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers. I walked down the steep stairs and put my feet on the rough ground. I looked around and my heart fell. It was just as hot and humid as I imagined it. I grabbed my over packed duffle bag and walked around looking for my grandmother. I had no memory of her so I didn't exactly know what I was looking for. My dad always told me it was best to stay away from your family once you got older. He was doing a good job at staying away from me and pushing my mom away. Just as I began to lose hope, I heard a popping motor and an elderly woman say a few words I rather not repeat. The old beat up green truck pulled up rite next to me. Inside, the woman with curlers in her gray hair opened the door. "Hop in son" she said looking at me up and down. I assumed she was my grandmother so I followed her orders and got into the truck. If she wasn't my grandmother, then I was just going to ride all way home with her. It was extremely hot in the truck. The windows were rolled down and the woman threw out her half smoked cigarette. I placed my hands in my lap and waited for her to spark a conversation. She finally did, and I was relieved. "You excited" she asked not taking her eyes off the dirt road. "About what" I asked. "coming to stay with me and your cousins". "Oh… uh yes" "You Don't look like you know what your getting into" she replied. I didn't know how to respond to that so I didn't. I really didn't know what I was getting into. All I knew was that I was going to my grandparents to stay for a few months. I didn't even know I had any cousins. "Well have you eaten lunch yet"? I didn't want to say no because then she would ask me more questions and I would make them more complicated than they had to be. So I lied. "uh yeah I ate on the plain". She believed me and we kept on ridding to her house. I looked around the truck and noticed it was older than I thought. There was no radio. Instead, there was a large hole with different color wires sticking out. The seat belt buckles looked like a dog had gotten hungry and eaten them. It was getting hotter and I was desperate to get outside. "Well I'm grama pearl". I looked over at her face. She looked almost ancient. Her wrinkly face was dull and not very interesting. She was wearing small golden earrings with little white pearls on them. Everything about her features were boring. Except her eyes. She had the most beautiful, misty blue eyes I had ever seen. "I'm Brandon" I replied. She looked at me and smiled. "well it's a good thing. I'm glad I didn't pick up the wrong boy". We pulled up to a big grey house. It had a few tulips in the dry flower bed. Sitting on the steps was a big black and white dog. There was a huge back yard filled with trees. In the middle of the back yard stood an old, decaying barn. The truck stopped and I opened the door. It squeaked as I pushed it open and got out . I grabbed my bag out of the back of the truck and followed grandma pearl into the huge house. She pushed open the front door and I followed her inside. The front door led into a small laundry room. Inside were four pairs of shoes. "Drop off your shoes". "This is the mud room". I did as I was told and pulled off my sneakers. I put them next to the rest of them. I followed her out of the laundry room and into the kitchen. I wondered why she called it the mud room. It must have been because mud came off your shoes and you left them in that room. The kitchen was painted a very odd yellow color. It looked like a first time dad was changing a diaper, and a baby peed all over the walls and cabinets. We walked through the kitchen and into the living room. It had wood paneling and brown carpet. It made me wonder if the carpet was bought brown, or if it just hadn't been cleaned for a very long time. We left the living room and went down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, we came into the dinning room. The dinning room had a long table in the center. Above it hung a small crystal chandelier. "We use this room for eating during holidays and what not". I was wondering exactly how many rooms were in the huge old house. We went through the dinning room and into a den. In the den, there were two chairs and a long cloth couch. It smelled like an old antique store you would find way down south. But then again, I was down south and everything looked like an antique. At the end of the den in the corner, I spotted a small stairway going upstairs. I followed grandma pearl towards the stairs. As I looked up, I realized just how steep they were. "This is were the bedrooms are" she announced. There were doors to our left, right, and in front of us. To my left was a bath room. It was blue with small exotic fish on the walls. To my right was also a bathroom. It was black and gray with silver shower curtains. "This is Anna's bathroom" she said pointing to our left. I looked around again. Now that I knew it was a girls bathroom, it did look a little girly. "And this is Brent's bathroom" she said pointing to the right. We started walking straight into a long hallway. We stopped at our first door to the left. "This is mine and grandpas room". I peeked in and saw a huge bed and very tall lamp. Then, she pointed to the first door on the right. "This is Anna's room". She walked over and knocked on the pink door. "Come in" yelled a girls voice from the other side. Grandma pearl opened the door. In the center of the room, sat a brown headed girl reading a book. All over her walls were posters and magazine cut outs of boy bands and actors. "Anna this is your cousin Brandon. He will be staying with us for the next two or three months". The lively girl jumped off the floor and ran to me. She opened her wide arms and gave me a big warm hug. "I'm so happy to meet you Brandon"! I was very surprised. I only expected a hello or even a light handshake. I gently pat her on the back and she released. "Well let me know if you need anything or if your dying of boredom" she said. she skipped back to her book and continued reading. "Yeah. I know. She's a perky one" Grandma said while closing the door. We continued down the long hallway until we came to another door to our right. "This is Brent's room" said grandma Pearl. "He's not like the bundle of joy you just met." I looked at the door. There were DO NOT ENTER signs all over the door. Inside, you could hear rock music playing. She knocked on the door, but no one answered it. She began beating on the wooden door until she heard the music stop. The door opened and there stood a boy. He had darker brown hair than his sister, but their eyes were the same shade of green. "Brent, this is your cousin Brandon I told you about". He looked at me and held out his hand. As we were shaking hands, I looked into his bedroom. Like his bathroom, the walls were black and his curtains were silver. He had dirty clothes all over the floor and his bed wasn't made. We released hands and he sat at his desk. "So your from Chicago?" He asked. I nodded my head yes and Grandma broke in the conversation. "He's going to stay with us for two or three months" She added. "That's cool" he replied. "If you want to come hang and listen to music ill be here" he said. Grandma closed his door and continued our tour of the house. "Wow" I said. "They are nothing alike". "Yeah and they fight like cats and dogs so you may hear them in the middle of the night arguing". I thought about this for a moment. It wouldn't bother me at all if they argued. My parents got in fights almost everyday. Once we got to the end of the hall, there were two more doors. One door was to my left and the other to my right. I looked in the door to my left and saw a TV, an old computer, and a couple of bean bag chairs. "That's the play room." she explained. She opened the door to my right and I wondered what this room was. Inside was almost empty. There was only a bed, a dresser, a window, and a closet. "This is were your room will be" she said. Of all the rooms in the enormous house and I got the worst one. The bed had only one thin pillow. "Ill go get you some covers". she said leaving the room. I put my bag next to the dresser, and sat on the bed. The bed was soft, but the room was cold. There was a tree rite next to my window so no sunlight really came in. Grandma Pearl walked in with a whole load of blankets and pillows. "You can ask your cousins for some things to hang on your wall if you want" she suggested. "Supper will be ready in about forty five minutes" she said. "Don't worry. you'll get used to things" she said with a smile. She left the room and headed down stairs into the kitchen. I dropped the blankets on floor and started to put all the soft pillows and covers on the bed. I looked at my unpacked bag and sighed. I didn't want to pull out all of my belongings, but what else did I have to do. Rite as I began to unzip my duffle bag, Anna walked in. "Hi" she said happily. "Hey" I replied. "What are you doing" she asked already knowing the answer. "Unpacking". "Oh….Do you need any help"? "Uh sure" I replied. Of course I was perfectly capable of unpacking my bag, but I wanted to be nice. She knelt down and waited for me to unzip my bag. We began pulling out shirts and folding them. "So why did you have to come here" she asked. "My mom and dad fight a lot and I think they are about to have a divorce". "Oh. I'm sorry" she said. "It's ok. I'm really tired of them fighting" I replied. "So do you like Louisiana so far"? "Uh….. well its hot and humid" I answered. "Yeah its something you'll have to get use to I suppose". "What about the house" she asked again. "I think it is very big. I like big houses" I replied truthfully. "Yeah it's been in our family for like fifty years or something" she added. Before I knew it, all my clothes were folded and put away in the old dresser drawers. We both stood up and dusted our knees. "So how old are you" she asked. "Oh, I'm fifteen" I said. "So are Brent and I! He is a little quiet but once you get to know him he is okay". "He didn't seem very friendly" I said. "Oh don't worry, he will open up". It felt better talking to someone my age. Everything was so different. "Well I'm going to go down and see what's for dinner" she said. "ok" I said. I could hear her walking gently down the stairs and into the kitchen. I opened my window, hoping to get some fresh air. It was jammed and I pushed as hard as I could. It looked like it was doing it on purpose. I tried again with no luck. I was determined to be able to breathe in my own room. I pushed up on the stupid window until I was sure I was going to break it. Just then, I realized it started to move. It was opening finally. I felt like I proved it wrong, until I noticed Brent was helping me push. We got it all the way open. We dusted off our palms and he looked at me. "These windows are as stubborn as grandpa" he said. "Thanks" I said. "I never would have gotten it open". "Your welcome" he replied. I looked at him and realized just how gothic he was. His nails were painted black and his black bracelet matched his gray ring. He was wearing a black pair of sweat pants and plain white tee shirt. "I think dinner is ready" he said. I followed him down the hall and all the way to the kitchen. Sitting at the table was a man reading a newspaper. I assumed it was a man because I saw a pipe sticking out of one side of the newspaper. Anna was setting out silverware and plates. Grandma Pearl was mixing spaghetti and adding salt to the fries. Brent pulled out a chair and sat down so I did the same. I had never smelled pipe tobacco but when it hit my nose it smelled perfect. It wasn't bad like cigarettes. Instead it was sweet yet minty. He lowered the newspaper and took a long look at me. The old man looked like he could wrestle a bear. He was a very well built old man. He had a plump little nose and fat ears. He didn't have the rest of the families eyes. His eyes were dark brown. "Who the hell are you" he asked very rudely. Brent started laughing and I didn't see what was so funny. Anna looked at me and whispered "he's kidding". I wanted to believe he was just joking, but he had a very straight and serious face. "Brandon" I replied. "I'm just kidding son. I know who you are. My name is grandpa Earl". He smiled at me and reached across the table to shake my hand. "He likes to embarrass kids" said Anna. I politely smiled back and shook his hand. Grandma Pearl set down a big bowl of spaghetti and fries on the table. I looked at the huge bowl of spaghetti and my stomach began to growl. I grabbed it quickly, hoping it would shut up before Grandpa Earl started teasing me again. Brent was the first one to grab a spoon and help himself. Anna was next to make her dinner and then it was my turn. I grabbed the spoon and laid the spaghetti and fries on my plate. After grandma and grandpa made their plates we all began eating. I ate my fries first and then my spaghetti. I didn't want all that I had taken, but everyone else ate everything on their plate. I forced myself to eat the rest of my food and followed Anna to the sink with my empty plate. We set our dishes in the sink and went upstairs. On the way, we passed a room I hadn't noticed before. "What room is that" I asked Brent. "Oh. That's grandpas office. We cant go in there. Ill have to take you in there when the adults aren't here". I had figured out that Brent was very rebellious. He was the type of person that stayed grounded. Anna walked in rite as Brent left for his room. "Don't listen to him" she said. "He'll only get you in trouble". It was getting dark outside. Anna followed me to my room. "I would offer to give you some posters but all I have is posters of Tom Cruise". "Its okay" I replied. We sat on my bed talking for a while about possible ways to make my new bedroom look better. "We could rearrange" she suggested. "I don't think it would really matter" I said. "its just a dull room". "But I am thankful" I added. Rite before she could spit out any words, we heard a tap on my window. "What was that" I asked in surprise. "I don't know" she said. Both of our eyes were wide open. It was dark outside and my room was creepier than ever. The full moon was on the other side of the tree outside my widow. The shadows of the branches looked like long spooky fingers and faces. "Aren't you going to go see what it was" she asked. "Me? Why me? Its your house." "Well its your room" she replied. She had a good point. It was my room, but I didn't want to go check out the creepy tap on my window. "This is ridiculous" I said. I got off the bed and walked across the room to the window. I heard the tap again and paused. I took a deep breath for bravery and started walking again. As I got closer to the window I saw a dark figure standing by the tree. As I looked closer, I saw that it was a person. I watched as the strange person picked up a small rock and threw it at my window. Anna walked to the window and sighed a deep annoyed sigh. "Its Brent" she said. "He's so annoying" she added. We struggled to push the window open, but it was a little easier to open than before. "What do you want" Anna quietly whispered to Brent. "What are you doing in there" he replied. "Talking to Brandon". I looked out the window and waved to Brent. "Come out here" he said. "We cant. Grandma and Grandpa will hear us open the front door" Anna replied. "Climb down the tree" he whispered. I had never snuck out of a window before. I had never snuck out of any were. Anna looked at me and rolled her eyes. I thought about what I would tell my friends, back home in Chicago, when they asked what I did this summer. I didn't want to have to tell them all I did was sit with my cousins and did nothing. "Come on" I said. I put one leg out and reached for a tree branch. My foot found the first branch and hopped on. Standing on the branch I looked up at Anna. She was having an internal debate. I could tell she never let go and did anything fun and against the rules. "Fine" she said. I was glad she gave in. She was more friendly than Brent was and I would feel better if she came too. I grabbed her hand as she leaped down on the first branch. Together we climbed all the way down the tall oak tree. When we got down Brent looked at us and signaled us to follow. I followed Brent and Anna followed me. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew I was excited. I looked around at the huge back yard. The grass was green and cool. Brent was bare foot and I had on socks. Behind me, Anna was worried. She didn't want to ruin her good girl reputation by getting caught sneaking out. Her pink and purple fuzzy slippers had bark in them from the oak tree. I looked ahead of us and saw the big old barn. "No way" Anna said. She stopped as if she refused to go any closer. "What" I said. It was just a barn and it wasn't even scary. "My grandpa said if he ever caught anyone in this barn he would ground us for life" Brent explained. "Come on Anna. I go in here all the time" he said. She looked at me as if she were begging me to go back. I didn't want to seem like a wimp in front of Brent, but I didn't want to be a jerk to Anna. "Please come Anna. We wont stay long. I promise" I asked. She took a minute or two but she slowly walked with us. We came to the big barn door but there was an old pad lock on it. "Great its locked. Now we have to go back" Anna said with relief. "You wish" Brent said. He walked to the side of the barn and Anna and I followed. Brent stopped at a rusty old ladder. It led to a small hole in the wall, almost at the very top. He looked at me and I knew exactly what he was thinking. He looked at Anna and I and waited for a reply. "Well are we doing this or not" Anna said looking at us. I still think she was excited, but she wanted to keep her good girl image. We began climbing up the rusty ladder. Brent was above me and Anna followed. We were half way up the ladder when I looked down. We were very high and I wanted to get to the top as quickly as possible. The old ladder was wobbly and I was getting a little nervous. Three fifteen year old kids on one old ladder didn't quite add up to me. After a minute or so we finally got the small wooden door at the top. Brent opened it and climbed in. I climbed a little further to the top and he grabbed my hand and pulled me up. I got all the way in and turned to help Anna. She climbed in and we stood on the dark wooden balcony. Brent walked to the center and pulled a string. The string went to a light and it lit up the whole barn. It was the biggest barn I had ever seen. There were no animals living in it but there were huge piles of hay below the balcony we stood on. "Is this cool or what" Brent said looking around. "This is pretty cool" Anna said holding back a smile. I could tell she didn't like being proven wrong. "Watch this" he said. Anna and I both watched as he walked to edge of the balcony. He looked over and jumped off the side. I ran over and looked below. He safely landed on one of the enormous hay stacks. "Come on" he said. I was very nervous to jump. I looked over edge again and saw just how high we really were. We must have been thirty feet in the air. I held my breath and leaned over, allowing my body to fall in the air. My heart skipped a beat and I felt myself land on a soft yet prickly hay stack. I opened my eyes and released my breath. I looked up at the balcony at my accomplishment. Anna looked at me. "Did it hurt" she asked. "Not at all" I replied. I saw her close her eyes and she landed next to me. We climbed off the hay and followed Brent back up the stairs to the top of the barn again. There were all kinds of old things up there. Grandpa had old bikes, boxes, cages and even an old record player. I walked to the back and saw a small door. It was similar to the one we crawled through to get inside the barn. "Were does this lead to" I asked. Both Anna and Brent walked over to me. "I've never noticed that" Brent replied. It was just a small wooden door on the wall. "Well it cant lead anywhere. There's just the outside of the barn if its in the wall" said Anna. I reached down and gently turned the silver latch. The door creaked open. We all looked inside. we should have seen the outside back yard, but instead it was just darkness. "Ill find a flash light" Brent said. He returned with an old silver flashlight. I took it and shined it in the odd little door. It was a hallway. A small hall way just big enough to fit through. "I say we crawl through and see what's on the other side" I suggested. I looked at Anna expecting to hear a reason why we shouldn't go through. "Ok" she said. I was very surprised. Brent and I both looked at her in astonishment. "Its like an adventure. Like in one of my books" she said. "If you say so" Brent replied. I was first to crawl through. I must admit I was scared. We kept crawling through until I hit my head on the other side. I pushed it very hard and it opened. The light poured into the tunnel and burned our eyes. I crawled around and found my way out. I stood up in the room and turned to help Brent and Anna out. We rubbed our eyes and looked around. We were in a circular room with only one door besides the one we came in. "Where are we" asked Anna moving to the center of the room. "I have no idea" Brent replied. Around the walls of the room were long wooden tables. On them were all sorts of odd things. There were lots of old books. There were also small tubes filled with funny colored liquids. There were notes and papers all over the place. "It looks like a very old science lab or something" I said. We were all looking around touching things we had never seen. Right when I reached to open an old chest we heard something. It sounded like footsteps. We all looked at each other with panic in our eyes. "Quick where do we hide" Brent asked looking around. "There" I said pointing under a table. But just as we ran to hide, the other door opened. We all froze in our panicked steps not knowing what to expect. In the door way was a old man. He was about my height and had a very long gray beard. He was dressed in a royal blue robe and had about ten scrolls in his hands. He looked up at me and I saw his eyes behind the small glasses. His eyes grew very wide and he dropped all the scrolls. He quickly turned and shut and locked the door. "Were have you come from" he asked looking straight at me. I didn't know what to say so I just stood there with my mouth wide open. "We came from the small door right there" Anna said pointing at the door. "Anna"! Brent scolded her. "If he wanted to hurt us he would have done it by now" she looked at Brent. "Very wise" the old man said. "I do not wish to hurt you. In fact…." But his words were broken off by a very loud and rough beat on the door. "Open up you old fool" came a voice from the other side. "quick children, hide" he said rushing us. He picked up the carpet like animal fur and we saw a door to what looked like a hide out. I reached out and pulled it open. We all climbed in and he closed the door. We could hear him place the fur back onto of the door. The small storage area we were in was getting very cramped very fast. I heard Anna whisper to Brent and tell him to move his big butt. We all got quiet and strained to hear what was being said above. "We heard voices. Do you think we aren't trained for these kind of things"? I didn't like the deep sturdy voice I heard at all. It sounded very mean and rough. "I am just an old wizard" the old man replied. "I cant just teleport people back and forth". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I heard Brent let out a very light chuckle. A wizard? Had we found our way to some kind of nut house? "Very well fool. But you know the consequences of lying to someone from the dark palace". "yes" the man replied. We heard the mean man leave and the professor lifted open the door. We all climbed up and stretched our backs once again. "Ok" said Brent pointing at the man. "I want to know where we are and how we got here". He was trying to sound threatening but the man wasn't scared at all. "I summoned you three to help us" he replied. "Help who" asked Anna. "All of us. Our whole world". "What world" I asked. None of us had any idea what this obviously insane man was talking about. "Why don't we all sit down" he said pulling out three chairs from a table. We walked over to the table and sat down. "First of all my name is Master Merlin. I am a wizard of Aria. Aria is the world you have all traveled to. I have summoned you all because we need your help. A dark force has risen. A man by the name of Aladar has gained control. He has taken over our worlds once greatest city". "So let me get this straight" Brent rudely interrupted. "You are some wizard from some far off land and you want us to save a whole different world"? I thought about this for a moment. Brent had a point. We didn't even know if this guy was really a wizard. "If you can prove to us that you're a real wizard then we will help" said Anna. I was quite proud of Anna's progress tonight. So far she had snuck out of the house, climbed down a tree, broken into our grandfathers barn and now she is volunteering to help save a world. "I will show you that I am real" he said. "This should be good" said Brent with a smile. The old man pulled a quill from a small bottle of ink. He concentrated on the quill very hard. Suddenly the quill started to turn green. It stared to become flimsy and turned into a small green snake. He picked up the small snake and put it in a jar. We all stared at the snake with wide eyes and heavy jaws. "Magic is only the beginning" said the old man smiling. After about two minutes of starring we all looked at each other. "A deal is a deal" I said looking at the both of them. It wasn't only because of the deal that I agreed to do it. I wanted some adventure in my life. "Yeah." Anna said. "Come on Brent you agreed too." I encouraged him. "Fine." he replied. He almost looked defeated yet excited. "Marvelous" said Merlin. He walked over to an old beat up chest and pulled a key out of one of his robe pockets. He reached down and placed the key into the lock. He turned the key and the lock popped open. Inside of the chest were many items. There was a sword handle, a ring with a dragon on it, a necklace with a small iron arrow on it, a wand, and a dagger. "Each of you may choose one and only one item. It will determine your powers which I will explain later". Anna was first to choose. She looked long and hard at the contents of the chest. She reached in the chest and pulled out the necklace with the small iron arrow. She put it around her neck and stepped back. Next, Brent walked up and took out the sword handle. It was black and silver. On the bottom end was a misty blue sphere. He held the handle and walked by Anna. It was now my turn. I took a few steps forward and looked into the chest. I didn't know which item to choose because I had no idea what any of them meant. I looked at the dragon ring. I felt like it was calling me. Like it wanted to be chosen. I reached down and lifted it up and placed it on my left pointer finger. All of the sudden I felt like I had just gotten stronger. I felt like I could take on the whole world. I turned and stood by Brent and Anna. "Keep your items very close at all times" Merlin warned us. "Follow me and stay close". He walked to the big door and peeked his head out. "Come" he said quickly walking to the hallway. We looked around as we followed him through what looked like a castle. We moved through hallways and passed doors. Finally we stopped at large wooden door. Merlin knocked and a young man answered. "The children are here Malakai" he said to the man. "Quickly, come in" he said rushing us into what looked like his house. We walked in and I looked all around the living room. In the center was a large fire place. The were large animal skins on the floor as well. "I must go my friends. The titans will soon notice I have gone" said Merlin leaving the house. "Please sit down. I'm sure your all very confused at this point" said Malakai walking over too a few chairs. We all took a chair and did as we were told. Malakai looked at us as if he felt sorry for us. "Can you please tell us what's going on and what everyone wants us to do" I said. To be honest I was getting annoyed. If we were supposed to save an entire world some one should at least tell what was happening. "I will tell you everything you need to know" he said. We all sat back and prepared for a story. "The world you have traveled to is called Aria. Its filled with magic, dragons, good, evil, and more creatures than you can imagine. There are many many different people in Aria. You have the elves, orcs, nymphs, trolls, dwarves and many more. There are two main alliances. The shades and the sparks. Shades are orcs, trolls, and other evil like creatures. The sparks are humans, elves, dwarves and other good like creatures. As master Merlin may have told you, Aria city has been invaded and taken over by Aladar, king of shades, and his army. He controls evil giants called titans. They follow his every order and have no soul". "So what are we supposed to do" I asked. "Tomorrow we will travel to the nymph forest. There is a very very large camp there made up of people who resist the evil king. There it will be safe to train you three with your chosen gifts. After you are all familiar with your abilities, our quest will continue. But for now you shall all sleep. You have had a very long journey." We followed him to a stair way. He took us upstairs and in a bedroom. There were three beds. We each took a bed and laid down. Not long at all, Anna and I heard Brent softly snoring. "Its so much to take in all at once" she said starring at the ceiling. "I know" I replied. "But as long as we look out for each other and never split up we can do it" she said with a smile. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep. I woke because I felt Malakai fiercely shaking me. Anna and Brent were awake and in new clothes. Anna was wearing a casual blue and purple dress that came to the bottom of her knees. It was very light so every time she walked across the room it swayed. She was wearing flat footed matching shoes. Brent was wearing black leather pants and gray leather boots. He had on a light gray cloth shirt. Brent held his sword handle and Anna was wearing her necklace. "Get up and come quickly Brandon" Malakai urged me. I hopped out of bed and felt my finger to make sure my ring hadn't slipped off. After making sure it was there, I followed him to a different room were he told me to change. I looked around expecting to find a pair of clothes folded up somewhere to wear. "What do I change into" I asked. "There is a whole closet full. Choose what ever you like" he said. "But hurry" he warned me. I walked over the large cupboard of clothes and opened it. I was amazed at all the clothes. There were every type of clothes in almost every color. A pair of dark red pants caught my eye. I slipped them on and they fit perfect. I found a matching belts and used it too. Now all I needed was a pair of shoes and a shirt. I dug in the enormous cupboard and found a pair of light red boots lined with light orange laces. I slipped them on and kept looking for a shirt. I found a cloth white shirt and leather black vest. I put them on walked out back to the bedroom. They were all waiting on me. "Very good" Malakai said. "Now come. We must move with haste". We followed him out of his house and back into the castle hallways. He stopped at a storage closet and pulled out four swords and four long dark brown cloaks. "Keep these close and only use them if absolutely necessary. Brent put his sword handle in his belt and took the one Malakai gave him. We all put our cloaks on and had our swords in our hands. I followed directly behind Malakai and Anna followed behind me. Brent followed close behind Anna. We were walking rather fast but we were encouraged to follow close and keep quiet. We were almost out of the castle when we came to a sudden halt. We heard a deep rough voice. "Who's there" the voice commanded. Malakai turned to us. "That's a titan. They are giant guardians of the dark lord." We could hear the titan getting closer. Anna put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. The titan came around the corner and into view. He was very big. He must have been ten feet tall. He looked like an ordinary man besides his size. He had dark gray eyes and looked blood thirsty. He reached at his belt and pulled out an enormous sword. Malakai leapt forward. He stabbed is sword in the titans leg. The titan screamed with pain. "Brent, grab your sword handle and attack. You can do it!" we heard Malakai yell. Brent looked at his as if he were absolutely crazy. Brent handed his sword to Malakai and took out his sword handle. All of the sudden a long silver blade quickly grew out of the sword handle. "Attack it" we heard Malakai command. Brent ran forward and with one swing sliced the terrible titans leg of. The titan fell to the ground and his evil eyes closed. Brent looked astonished. None of us could believe what just happened but Brent smiled. "Very good now move quickly" Malakai said. Brent held his amazing sword and got back behind Anna. We followed Malakai all the way out of the castle with out any more titan problems. Out side of the gate was a carriage. We ran to it and Malakai and Brent got into the carriage. Anna and I wanted to see what was pulling the carriage. We expected to see a few horses. What we saw was far from a horse. We looked at the front of the carriage and attached to the reins were two huge whit tiger. There fangs looked like a saber tooth tiger. They stuck out of there mouth and looked very sharp. We turned and ran into the carriage. We hopped in and took a deep breath. "Malakai" I said. "What are those animals pulling the carriage" I asked. "Those sabers" he said. "They are very large wild cats with very long, deadly fangs". "But that's impossible" Anna said. "You cant have a logic mind in Aria" Malakai replied. There are creatures that will blow your mind. Just wait until you see what your necklace does" he said with a smile. "How did my sword appear" Brent said holding the mighty sword. "If your emotions drastically change your sword will summon. It will stay out until you think in your mind that you don't need it for the time being". Brent concentrated on the sword for a few seconds. Then the sword slowly disappeared and he held the handle once again. We rode for a very long time in the carriage. We were all very ready to get out when the carriage stopped. We opened the door and got out. I stepped out and heard grass under my feet. We began following Malakai once again and realized we were in a huge forest. I looked around and saw just how big the forest actually was. The trees in Aria forest were the biggest trees I have ever seen in my whole entire life. They looked like they were over one hundred feet tall! They looked like over grown oak trees. "Where are we going" Anna asked. "To the city of the woods" Malakai replied. "It is untouched by the dark lords power". We kept walking and walking until we stopped at a tree. I didn't see why we stopped at this particular tree. Malakai reached out ant knocked on the tree very loudly. All of the sudden the tree opened. There was a door carved into. We saw a beautiful girls standing in the door way. We all stared at her in amazement. Her face was perfect. The perfect tone and features. I looked at her ears and noticed they were pointed. "Please let us intrude. I have brought very important children that the king is awaiting" Malakai told the girl. "Very well" the girl replied. She reached up and pulled a rope. "Watch your head" she told us. We all backed up and down fell a rope ladder. We followed Malakai all the way up the rope. It reminded me of the time we climbed up to the barn. So much had changed since then. We got to the top and saw the most amazing thing ever. It was a city in the tree tops. There were houses inside the trees. They were all connected by rope bridges. I heard Anna gasp in amazement. Not all of it was rope bridges. There were large platforms made of strong wood that had shops and eating areas on them. We walked on the bridges looking at all the amazing sites. There were children playing, people practicing sword fighting and laughter everywhere. "Why hasn't the dark lord come here" Brent asked Malakai. "He can stand happiness and love. His weakness is love and life. In the forest all things live" he answered. We kept walking and looking at the amazing city. We got to a white tree. I looked up at the top and saw a big tree house. There was a bird sitting on a post down beside us. Malakai walked up to the bird and pet his head. The little green bird hopped on to Malakai's finger. "Would you please go inform king Galavar and queen Sarah we have arrived" he told the bird. The little bird flew way up high to the tree house. "The bird can understand you" Brent asked. "Yes" he replies. "Most animals here can". "Wow" said Anna. "The name Galavar sounds just like the evil kings name, Aladar". "They are Brothers" Malakai replied. "Galavar is very good though. He and his brother chose very different paths. Some say Aladar doesn't take over the forest because he doesn't want to hurt his brother". I thought about this for a moment. It must be hard to lead a city full of people who your brother has hurt. The green bird returned and sat on its little post where we found it. We saw two very large birds flying down from the tree house. One was great white owl. It had a few black and gray spots on its wings and back. The other one was a brown hawk. It was completely brown with bright blue eyes. They glided all the way down and landed next to us. They were as tall as I was when I was standing up. They slowly transformed into two elves like the one we saw at the tree below. "My friends" said the once white owl. "I am King Galavar" he said shaking my hand. "I'm Brandon" I replied. "I'm Anna and this is my brother Brent" said Anna. The girl who had been the hawk walked to Anna and shook her hand. "I am Sarah. I have a feeling we will get along great" she said. We all shook hands and Malakai told Galavar how good it had been to see his old friend. "Well by all means. Let the training begin" Galavar said. We followed him to a big building. It looked like an old fighting arena. We walked in and I looked around. There was no roof to the arena and it had dirt floor. "I must ask that all but Brent please have a seat" said Galavar. Malakai stayed knowing he would need to assist Brent. I Followed Sarah over to a few comfy red chairs. We watched as they showed Brent how to summon and un summon his sword blade easier and quicker. "I hope I get a cool power" said Anna. "In my opinion yours is the best" Sarah replied. "Brent's power is mostly strength. Anna's, your power has a great deal of knowledge and wisdom. Brandon, your power is the most important of all. You have a role in our world. You are the main hero. You are the leader of your group and in the end it will be you who kill Aladar". My heart sank as she said these words. Why did it have to be me? I didn't want to be a great hero. Sure I'm glad we found this amazing world, but I didn't want to be responsible if we failed. "Brent will challenge your leadership Brandon" she cautioned. "Once he realizes how powerful you are, he will envy you". "But why cant he be this great hero"? I asked. "You are the chosen child" she said. "On your quest, you will uncover the truth of who you really are". I sat back in the chair and took a deep breath. I never really thought about who I wanted to be. I didn't even think about graduating high school. But none of that matters now. I am in a huge, vast world. Nothing from my old world really matters. I looked over at Brent. He was trying very hard to duel Malakai. I felt great sympathy for him. He wanted to be a great warrior and leader so bad, and I am forced to take that role for him. "Why don't you rest for a little while" Galavar told him. He walked over and sat next to Anna. "Anna" Malakai called. Anna hopped up and skipped over to the two trainers. "Hold the iron arrow tight in your hand and concentrate" they told her. She grabbed the small arrow and closed her eyes. I saw small yellow sparkles form around her back. I watched as the little lights formed into a sachet of arrows on her back and a long silver bow in her hand. She opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh. It didn't look easy and I hoped that my gift held a power much more easy to control. She looked at her silver bow in amazement. On the bow was a silver dragon wrapped around the body of the bow. The sachet of white arrows was just as interesting. It had a the picture of a mother dragon watching over her eggs in a nest. This fit Anna's personality very well. She was always looking after others and trying to keep everyone out of trouble. Malakai drug in a rough looking target. "The key to using your bow and arrows is trust" Malakai told her. "You must trust that you hit the target". She drew a beautiful arrow from her back and laid it on her hand and bow. She closed one eye and held her breath. She released the arrow and shot too far and missed. "Concentrate" Sarah reassured her. "Trust your bow". Anna lifted her bow again. She relaxed her shoulders and this time took a deep breath. She released the arrow and hit the target rite on the bulls eye. We all began to clap and praise her. She bounced over to me and hugged me. I could tell she was very happy about her achievement. "Brandon" Said Galavar with a more firm and serious voice. Everyone got very quiet as I walked to the two trainers. "You have the most powerful gift" Galavar told me. "Hold out your hand point your finger the ring is on at the target Anna was shooting". I pointed my left pointer finger at the target. "Feel the warmth of the air and the sun all around you" Malakai told me. I focused on the target but I concentrated on all the warmness around me. I noticed the dragon on my ring. His eyes began to glow a deep red. All of the sudden the target burst into flames! I jumped back in astonishment. I looked at the burning target. I couldn't believe I did that. Without even touching it! "Very well" said Galavar. Anna and Sarah stood up and clapped for me. I looked over at Brent. He didn't seem very happy. He made himself form a smile across his lips. "You have one more task" Malakai informed me. He put out the burning target with a wooden bucket of water and put his hand on my shoulder. "This is were the fun begins" he said with a smile. I wasn't sure what kind of fun was going to come out me using my amazing new powers, but I was ready to find out. "Close your eyes and feel your magic" Galavar told me. "Relax your whole body and mind". I closed my eyes and tried to relax. It was hard to clear my thoughts when I knew everyone was watching me. After a few minutes of total quiet, I felt Brandon raise my left arm. He raised it high above my head as if I was reaching for the sky. He shaped my hand to were I was pointing the finger that my ring was on high in the air. "Now imagine your flying" he whispered. I pictured myself high above the air. I looked up at my raised hand and saw what it was that I was supposed to be doing. The dragon that was wrapped around my ring began to come to life! It straightened its body out and spread it wings. I knew I had to be doing it right, but I didn't know what the point of making the little move was. The dragon starting flapping its wings until it began to lift up off of the ring. It flew higher and higher until it disappeared into the sky. We all waited and watched for something else to happen. Surely I wasn't supposed to just release the little dragon into the sky. What good would that do me in a fight? All of the sudden the sky made a booming sound! It sounded like a very loud thunder. Above us you could see the shape of the dragon. Only this time it was much bigger! It drifted down and landed next to me. I fell to ground in amazement! The dragon must have grown twenty feet! It held its head high and then bowed down in front of me. I was completely astonished. I stood up and dusted myself off. "Return the bow" Brandon told me. I did as I was told and bowed down before the mighty beast. It raised its and I followed its movements. It looked very ferocious but its eyes looked loving. The mighty green dragon stood up high and raised its head. "This is your dragon" Malakai told me. "You may name it what you want and train him at your will". The dragon brought his head down in front of me. I slowly reached my hand out and touched the mighty animal. His skin was like petting a giant lizard. "I think I'll name him Donto" I said. Right as the words left my mouth the dragon blew hot black smoke from his nostrils. "I guess he likes it" Sarah said. "Now that you have summoned your dragon you must learn to return him to your ring". Galavar walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. All of the sudden Donto jerked his head up and down snorting like a horse. Galavar quickly removed his hand from my shoulder and slowly stepped back. "It's ok Donto" I said raising both of my hands. He looked in my eyes and sat down on the ground. "Everyone in this room is our friend" I reassured him. Donto looked at Brent and turned his head. Galavar walked back to me and placed his hand back on my shoulder. "hold your hand up to Donto and line your ring up towards the center of his chest". I did as I was told and Donto stood back up. "Now focus hard and imagine him disappearing. Don't worry you can bring him back when ever you like". I focused as hard as I could and watched as Donto shrunk back to the little dragon on my ring. "Now you have all learned your powers" Sarah told us. "It is up to you to master them". I walked over and stood next to Brent and Anna. "You three have had a very busy day" Malakai told us. "Come. You must rest". We followed the three leaders out of the arena and across many bridges. Young children starred and adults whispered as we passed by them. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying. "Are they the heroes?" I heard one say. "They are so young" I heard the other reply. We walked across bridges high in the trees until we reached a cottage. It looked very cozy and warm. Sarah walked ahead and opened the door. Brent, Anna and I followed her inside. "This is where you three will be staying" she said with a smile. "I will come and get you all in the morning" Malakai told us. They left us and closed the door. I looked around the beautiful cottage. The walls were stones. The curtains on the window above the kitchen sink were a deep satin. The room felt so safe. Away from all the war a hate of the outside world. "Well I guess ill go look around" Brent said leaving the main living room. I followed behind him. There was one bedroom with three very soft beds. There was dresser and an unlit lantern as well. I walked inside and found a match laying next to the lantern. I struck the match swiftly against the wall and watched as the fire burned the wooden stick. I lit the lantern and looked out the window. We were high in the tree city. It was already dark out side and I could see patrol guards walking on the platforms with a sword and a lantern. "I don't know about you guys but I am exhausted" Anna said falling on the middle bed. I walked back up to the front and made sure the door was locked and sat on one of the red chairs in the living room. Anna and Brent plopped down on the couch and we all took a deep sigh. "This is so weird." Brent said day dreaming. I looked above the fireplace and saw a painting framed. It was beautiful. Simple, but intense. I felt like it meant a lot. I walked over to the picture and read a small section of words. It read Our beautiful country. I thought about for moment. I turned to Anna. "This must be their flag" I said. She walked over and examined it." It feels like home when I see it." She said. I looked behind me at Brent who had taken the courtesy of falling asleep.

I went to the back room and looked through the chess wood drawers and fund some cloth shorts and a linen t-shirt. I grabbed another pair and woke up Brent. "Here." I said gently shaking him awake. "Thanks." he said as he went to change. Anna went to the bathroom and put on a gown that looked like something Grandma Pearl would wear. Once we were all changed and very tired we chose a bed in the bedroom and fell asleep. "Wake up! Wake up now!" I woke to a violent shake. I saw Malakai shaking me. He had a panicked look in his eyes. I jumped out of bed and saw Anna and Brent rushing around the cottage putting things in three separate bags. They were still in the clothes they had fallen asleep in. "What's going on?" I said jumping to my feet. "Were under attack!" he said pulling me to the front room. "Hurry and summon Donto!" he said. I walked out to the bridge rite out side the cottage door. I held up my hand with my ring and watched as Donto came back to life. Anna rushed out to me and handed me a back pack. She had her bow and arrows on her back and Brent came running out with his sword summoned and in a holster to his side. I heard screaming and yelling all around me. I walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down at the section below us. I saw giant men grabbing women and fighting men with giant axes. I could believe what I was seeing. "You three must go!" Sarah said. She grabbed a scroll and handed it to Anna. "It will explain what's happening. Now go. Get on Danto's back and control him with your mind Brandon." "Where do I go?" I replied in a hurry. "Go far north." she said pointing to the north. "Don't stop until morning." We all put on our bags and climbed on Donto. "Fly" I said. The mighty dragon flapped its huge wings and we began to lift from the ground. He kept flapping until we were high above the trees. "Now go north." I said. We began flying north. I looked back at the forest city. It was glowing with red. It must have been fire. I could see different groups fleeing on horses, but where would they go. This was a truly grim world. We rode for what seemed like hours. I saw the sun beginning to rise. I had no Idea where we were going but I noticed that Donto was getting tired. He slowed his wings. He was getting sleepy and so was I. I don't know how to explain but it was like we had a deep connection. I looked back and was relieved that I couldn't see the chaotic forest any more. "Help me find a place to land." I shouted. I felt Anna's head lift from one of my shoulders and we both began looking below us. It was still dark and the wind was cold. "Sarah said not to stop until morning" Anna replied. "Donto's getting very tired. I can feel it" I said. We decided to stop anyway. We where on the forests edge. I saw a small cave and told Donto to stop and rest. We gradually glided down until our feet were on the ground. We got off and walked into the cave. It wasn't very large, but it was good enough to get some sleep in. Donto followed us laid down in front of the entrance. We looked through the bags Sarah gave each of us. Each bag had a small pillow, a few pieces of bread, a thick blanket, and a pouch of water. We all laid out our warm, soft blankets and pillows. I left my bread and water inside the leather bag. After seeing the horrifying site in the forest, I wasn't that hungry. "We should go and get some weeds to make a fire." Brent suggested. " "Good Idea." I replied. "Stay and guard the cave Donto." He replied with a grunt. I couldn't imagine how tired he must have been. "Brandon." Brent said "Use your powers and give us some light." I held my hand out and tried hard to produce a flame. This was very hard because it was still night and I couldn't feel the heat of the sun. I imagined what it would feel like if the sun was out. My hand began to glow and got brighter and brighter until I produced a decent sized flame. I held it in my hand in amazement. "Here, you'll need to lead the way." Anna told me. I walked in front of them and began walking in the eerie forest. We searched the woods for probably twenty minutes. Anna and Brent both had their arms holding wood, and I had some in the arm that wasn't holding the fire. We took it back into the cave and set it in a triangle form. "I learned this in boy scouts a long time ago!" Brent informed us. "Now all we need is something to light it with." Brent and Anna both looked at me at the same time. "Ok." I said with a giggle. I placed one finger in the bottom of the wood and ignited the flame. The dry wood quickly caught on fire and the warm blaze lit up the cave with a comforting light. The dim light surrounded us with a warm feeling. Like we were safe. We folded our soft, thick blankets like sleeping bags and rested. Morning came all to soon. We forced ourselves to wake up and ate a little of our food. The fire had died and Donto stood up and stretched his mighty claws. We packed up our things and opened the scroll that Sarah gave to Anna. Children. You must go North to the elf kingdom. It is one of few cities that the dark king has oddly left untouched…. For the most part. Keep going until you reach the elf city, then see the king. He will tell you what you must do from there. Stay safe.

Love, Sarah.

"Well, I guess that's that." Brent said walking towards Donto. Donto raised his head, blocking Brent from mounting him without my permission. Anna and I finished packing our things and got back on Donto. "We must keep going North." I told Donto. "To the Elf city." Almost immediately after we got on Donto's back, we were all getting sore. We had been riding for so long. I thought about the children in the forest. The titans wouldn't have had any mercy. We could only hope we could get to the elf city and be able to some how save the forest people. "I can only imagine how upset grandma and grandpa are." I hear Brent say. This was shocking. We had all gotten so caught up in our adventure, we hadn't stopped to think about grandma and grandpa. They had probably called my mom and dad and told them we had all run away. My mother and father were probably sending police to their house to investigate. I was glad I was gone though. I didn't care one bit.


End file.
